Stephenson - An Odyssey of Malt, Bourbon Rye Whiskies: The Curious Bartender

THE CURIOUS

BARTENDER

AN ODYSSEY OF

MALT, BOURBON & RYE

WHISKIES

THE CURIOUS

BARTENDER

AN

ODYSSEY OF

MALT, BOURBON & RYE

WHISKIES

TRISTAN STEPHENSON

WITH PHOTOGRAPHY BY ADDIE CHINN

Designer Geoff Borin

Commissioning Editor Nathan Joyce

Head of Production Patricia Harrington

Art Director Leslie Harrington

Editorial Director Julia Charles

Publisher Cindy Richards

Indexer Diana Le Core

First published in 2014 by

Ryland Peters & Small

2021 Jockeys Fields

London WC1R 4BW

and

519 Broadway, 5th Floor

New York, NY 10012

www.rylandpeters.com

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Text Tristan Stephenson 2014

Design and photographs Ryland Peters & Small 2014

The authors moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

eISBN: 978 1 84975 907 6

ISBN: 978 1 84975 562 7

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

US Library of Congress CIP data has been applied for.

Printed in China

CONTENTS

Im writing a whisky book

I said cheerfully to the distiller standing in front of me.

Ah, another one

He replied with a frown,

Why dya want to do that? Theres plenty enough already and theyre all just lists of lists!

Good point, I thought. I was at the Kilchoman Distillery on the island of Islay, just off the west coast of Scotland. My companions and I were in the middle of a four-day tour that covered around 20 of the 100-or-so malt whisky distilleries currently operational in Scotland today. It was blowing a gale and lashing down with rain outside on a morning in December, and we were warming ourselves by the glow of the two small copper pot stills.

I didnt really know how to reply to the mans question. He was probably twice my age and possessed limitless experience and knowledge of the whisky industry. And he was right; the subject of whisky is an impressively well-documented one. More books have already been dedicated to this category of spirits than any other I know of, and on the face of it, there is little need for another one.

But the same could have been said about Kilchoman Distillery, the very place I was standing when the question was posed to me. Here was a whisky distillery on the tip of everyones tongue, attracting visitors from far and wide, yet Kilchoman only began making whisky in 2007. You could have argued that Islay didnt need another distillery; the seven other operational distilleries on the island had got along quite happily for over 100 years (some of them much longer). Why start a new distillery there now? Whatever the reason it was an astute move. Folk are buying up Kilchoman as fast as they can make it, which is even more surprising given the 50 ($85) price tag for what is, by anyones standards, a very young Scotch whisky.

So perhaps a new slant on an old favourite can be an agreeable thing? Thats my hope anyway that the same thing gravitating us towards the fresh approach that Kilchoman offers also inspires you to pick up this book and discover (or rediscover) the whisky category at a time when it is rediscovering itself.

Whether you are curious about how a young whisky from Islay might taste, or interested in how history shaped whisky in to the worlds largest premium drinks category, puzzled about how a barrel turns a fiery white spirit into a mellow yet complex expression of time, or searching for better ways to enjoy drinking whisky. Its all in here, because I was curious about these things and the odyssey that I embarked upon helped me answer these questions and many more besides.

This journey taken me to some of the absolute extremities of the United Kingdom, through the bible-belt states of Tennessee and Kentucky, on to the whisky bars of Taiwan and the bullet train rides along the length of Japan. Ive rooted through the history books and into the origins of human civilization, and visited state-of-the-art laboratories equipped with flavour detecting and creating technology concerned with whisky making. I have consumed whisky on remote wind-torn beaches as the sun rises, and in the worlds tallest buildings as the sun sets. Ive tasted 10,000 ($17,000) bottles and 10 ($17) bottles and found value in both of them. Ive also made lifelong friends on this journey and spent a lot of time simply sitting, sipping and thinking about whisky all by myself.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

This book can be broadly separated into four different sections, each of them a useful referencing source in their own right, but when put together they form a sweeping campaign of whisky propaganda, general musings, original photography and scientific know-how.

In the first section of this book, I have endeavoured to thoroughly explore the history of whisky, from the origins of alcoholic beverages and distillation and their seemingly inseparable connections to religion, philosophy and spirituality, through to the emergence of medicinal aqua vitae, uisgebaugh and whisky itself. In more recent history, I explore some of the cultures, people and politics that have moulded whisky into the global product that we know today.

Then we take an in-depth look into whisky production, from a simple barley grain through to an amber liquid with unparalleled levels of complexity and intricacy. We also look at how some of the most traditional techniques, that still remain in practice today, are now balanced with state-of-the-art renewable energy standards and precise manipulation methods that craft distinct products over a period of years and decades.

In the third section I explore over 55 of the worlds most incredible distilleries, across nine countries and 19 distinct whisky-producing regions. Here we discover what makes these producers create the spirit that they do and how seemingly tiny deviations can dramatically affect the final outcome. Ive aimed to shed new light on some of the oldest and distilleries in the world, and championed some of the newest, too. Attention has been devoted equally to both small and large operations, and up-to-date tasting notes are included for some of my favourite expressions.